As always, the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Note the vines in the background. Otto went on a week-long school trip to the coast, a big deal when you are only seven years old. The teachers said this helps expand the kids’ horizons. They learn that there are places inContinue reading "Some photos from the week on the farm"

Dandelions, a patou and Roques. A patou des Pyrénées is a Pyrenean Mountain Dog (or Great Pyrenees) and Legend is one of those. He’s about one year old now and big and puffy. He likes to keep watch for intruders. The herd is in the Florida paddock. The grass here has had about three monthsContinue reading "Dog, cows and pasture"

The last time we merged two herds was a tough day with broken fences and cows running through vineyards and off up the road. This time we managed it a little better. First we checked the fences. Gustav did some therapeutic cleaning of the blackberries and I fixed up some new fence. What every smart-dressedContinue reading "A herd merge, otherwise known as a moo-off"

I was just about finished rolling the Nebraska paddock with the cultipacker when the tractor lurched to the left and started sliding sideways down the hill. Ah, a flat. My bicycle puncture repair kit wasn’t up to this job. The man at the local shop came out in his van and changed out the frontContinue reading "That’s not a flat, that’s a blowout"

You have to wipe off the little windows every now and then to read the instruments. Instruments by Jaeger, too. This field is now seeded with lucerne (US:alfalfa; FR:luzerne) and dactyle (US: orchardgrass; EN: cocksfoot). We have had a bit of rain in the days since the photo so the seeds are on their wayContinue reading "Cultipacking can be dusty work"

Salers cows are red. They look like this, although usually not quite as silly as 33 here: There’s a rare gene in the herd that gives you black Salers. A lot of the French farmers don’t like the black color, so they don’t breed from it. Jean-Claude, the farmer from which I bought my cows,Continue reading "Black Salers and Blackie Onassis"

Part of renovating our cattle yards is the new hardware – barriers, gates and a cage de contention to hold cows steady for examination or insemination. Getting the material off the low loader means putting the pallet forks on the tractor. Rev the engine to get the power in the hydraulic system and lift theContinue reading "Unloading some galvanized steel – barriers and a chute"

A few days ago: snow. We had 12 days of cold with nights dropping down to –10 and days remaining below zero. But we had sun, which warmed the heart if not the water lines. The snow has since gone. The grass wasn’t affected by the snow layer. Legumes are springing up all over. ForContinue reading "Around the pastures after the snow has gone"

After running for 20 minutes the tractor gave a sigh and decided to take a nap in the sunshine. It stopped on a spot with a lovely view and with a bale of hay still on the loader. It was several degrees below zero (in Celsius-speak). This is nothing to brag about if you areContinue reading "Woe is the Renault in the snow"

If there’s one thing rural France has an abundant supply of, it is beautiful churches. I was up on le Cher in the Centre to visit a Salers farm, one that has 200 mother cows on 320 hectares. This was a much bigger operation than the one we run. They get a lot of demandContinue reading "Visiting a Salers farm in the Centre"